“Once upon a time, my son asked me if we could make a roller coaster in our backyard. I thought it over — for about 15 seconds — and said ‘Yes.’” Pemble says.

Most people would be intimidated by the thought of creating their own roller coaster, but Pemble seems to delight in the project. After hundreds of hours of work, Pemble’s family now has a 180-foot roller coaster made of PVC, wood, and steel.

Pemble and his family started to build the roller coaster in 2013, and he has been documenting the improvements and progress on his “CoasterDad Project” YouTube channel. So far, several hundred hours have been invested in the project, and Pemble has even begun to help others build their own backyard roller coasters.

At the upcoming Bay Area Maker Faire on Saturday and Sunday (May 16th and 17th), Will Pemble will be showing off a brand new homebuilt roller coaster created just for the Faire, so if you’re interested in making your own backyard coaster, come by and ask him plenty of questions!